On Monday morning (4 August, 9:05 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as traders digested new U.S. tariffs and a jobs report that sent Wall Street lower last week, intensifying expectations for a potential Federal Reserve rate reduction next month.
Additionally, market participants are also keeping a close eye on oil prices after OPEC+ wrapped up significant decisions on increasing output.
U.S. job growth in July fell short of forecasts, with the monthly employment report showing unemployment rising to 4.2% as household job numbers dropped. Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 73,000 in July, following a sharply revised gain of 14,000 jobs in June—the smallest monthly increase in almost five years.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 1.8% to 40,066.39. Australia’s ASX 200 declined by 0.27% to 8,638.2, while South Korea’s KOSPI surged by 1.07% to 3,152.92.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.2% to 3,566.91. Hong Kong’s HSI grew by 0.05% to 24,519.29, while Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.33% to 10,954.75.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 1.23% to 43,588.58. NASDAQ plummeted by 2.24% to 20,650.13, and S&P 500 fell by 1.6% to 6,238.01. VIX soared by 21.89% to 20.38.
As for commodities, oil prices slipped on Monday, following the decision from OPEC+ to implement another significant production increase in September. Brent crude dropped 0.57% to $69.27 a barrel by 0115 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slid 0.55% to $66.96.
The decline comes after both benchmarks lost around $2 per barrel on Friday, as worries over a weakening U.S. economy added to the downward pressure. OPEC+ announced a 547,000-barrels-per-day output hike on Sunday, continuing its strategy of ramped-up production to capture market share, citing robust economic signals and low inventory levels.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.16% to $3,405.2 per Troy ounce.
